Inescapable Edicts
by SpaBath
Summary: Sick of J/S happily ever after. Sarah and Jareth meet again on twisted words and the games begin- no HEA, PLETE
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I know I said I was going to write lots of different fan fictions. This will be my last Labyrinth fan fiction, I promise. I'm just frustrated with other Labyrinth fan fics right now – what is it with everyone trying to make Jareth softer? Or making Sarah love him? Or making Jareth love Sarah? What if Jareth held a grudge? What if Sarah was combatant? What if neither could escape Jareth's final edict?

**Inescapable Edicts: Chapter One**

Sarah leaned back from the computer and sighed. It had been a long week. One of the lawyers at the firm had had a nervous breakdown and it was discovered that he'd been committing fraud. Sarah had been part of the team that was working through his notes and files while keeping up with their regular case loads. Micah stuck his head around his office door.

"Hey, Sarah, you still here?" he asked her. Sarah looked up and smiled at him.

"Yeah, just trying to finish up this file before I go home," she replied. Micah grinned back at her.

"Got any plans for this weekend?" he asked her. Sarah laughed lightly.

"You know me better than that, Micah. What about you?" she replied.

"Well, I've been thinking about asking this girl out. She's pretty special. I thought maybe we could do something this weekend," Micah said speculatively. Something pulled at Sarah's heart. She'd been working with, _for_ (she forced herself to remember he was her boss) Micah for around a year now. She'd only been in love with him for the past three months, but she'd liked him for a lot longer than that. It was very inappropriate, she knew. But she loved him. If she stopped working for him, she stopped having contact. Sarah knew she'd rather sit in the front row of his wedding quietly and work for him every day until he retired than lose contact with him. She smiled almost sadly at him.

"You should go for it, Micah. Any girl would be crazy not to go out with you," Sarah managed sincerely. Micah gave her a strange look.

"But there's other stuff to consider," he said. "It's slightly unconventional and could be considered harassment." Sarah frowned, she couldn't imagine Micah harassing anyone.

"I'm sure you wouldn't do it in a way that would make anyone feel uncomfortable. And you're not the kind of guy that's a potential stalker. So I don't see why you're so hesitant. Unless you're chicken," Sarah teased him lightly. Micah laughed.

"Oh yes, I'm very chicken. Like I said, this girl's special. I don't want to stuff it up," he said. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"You're being over-cautious and secretly want me to stay here to midnight, don't you?" she said, gesturing to her paperwork. She couldn't keep talking like this with him. It was starting to hurt a little. Micah looked uncomfortable as he came out of the office. He crossed the room and leaned on her desk, facing her.

"Really, Sarah, do you think me that cruel?" he asked gently. His words reminded her of something she deliberately did not think about anymore. She looked up at him cautiously, unsure of where this was going.

"I don't think you're cruel, Micah. If I did, I wouldn't work here anymore," she said simply with a shrug, deciding that he hadn't meant what she'd thought he had.

"Why do you work here? I happen to know that you've had offers from other firms," Micah asked her, as if changing the subject. Sarah smiled at him.

"Loyalty, mainly, and happiness. I can't guarantee I'd be happy where I was going; that I'd still love my job, love my boss," she replied, hating herself for saying it out loud. Micah looked pained. Sarah frowned, concerned.

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" she asked him, reaching out to gently touch his arm. She stopped herself short and dropped her arm back to the desk. _Inappropriate Sarah_, she chastised herself.

"Oh no, you said the right thing, just meant the wrong thing by it," Micah replied. Sarah looked up at him confused; she had no idea what he meant. She decided it was best to change the subject. Unfortunately, she could only think of one.

"So, who is the girl, Micah? Anyone I know?" Sarah asked lightly, teasing smile on her face. Micah looked pained again. She wondered if he were having some sort of cramp or something. The contorted look on his face was not one she'd ever encountered before tonight.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Micah let out a sigh.

"It's you, Sarah. You're the girl," he said finally. "I just had to say it. Please don't sue me." Sarah looked up at him in shock. That had to be the least eloquent and most scared she'd ever seen the capable lawyer in the past year. It also had to be the clumsiest confession of love ever. But it was the only one she wanted to hear. Micah was looking at her in wary expectation. She almost laughed at the fact he obviously assumed he was going to get his heart broken.

"How long?" she asked him. He looked a little shattered but answered the question.

"It started the day you remembered how I took my coffee, and got a hell of a lot worse about three months ago when I first found out people were trying to poach you. I realized that a day without you wasn't one I wanted to get through," he said simply. Sarah smiled.

"So you're in love with me then?" she asked him gently. More like she was being inquisitive than dying to know the answer. Micah looked like the world was falling apart on him. She was desperate to reassure him but decided she'd much rather have her answer first. Micah nodded mournfully.

"I'm sorry, Sarah. It's my problem. I shouldn't have said anything," he said. Sarah frowned slightly.

"But I'm glad that you did," she told him. He looked at her hesitantly.

"You aren't going to quit, are you? Please don't," he begged. Sarah laughed lightly.

"Oh, I might quit yet, Micah. I've got a very strict no-dating policy when it comes to employers, you see," she said, unable to stop the grin on her face. Micah looked at her for a moment while the words sunk in.

"You mean… you… I… you'll go out with me?" Micah stumbled over his words, brown eyes molten and grin on his face. Sarah nodded.

"Yes, I will," Sarah replied. Micah gripped her hand.

"You won't regret this Sarah, I promise," Micah said. Sarah shook her head.

"Don't say that, not yet," she said softly. Micah looked deep into her eyes.

"I wish you would come away with me this weekend," Micah said.

Sarah froze. He'd said the words. She gaped at him. Micah looked shocked that he'd said it.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's to soon-," he started but he was cut off by a window being blown open by a gust of wind. Sarah watched in horror as an owl flew in the window. And then transformed into the one person who she never wanted to see again. She stepped in front of Micah, whose mouth was agape in shock.

"Sarah, what is this?" Micah asked. Jareth smiled cruelly.

"My thought's exactly, Sarah. What is this?" he said. Sarah narrowed her eyes at him.

"You… no one called you here. No one said their right words, Jareth," she spat at him. Jareth laughed.

"Oh near enough is close enough these days," Jareth responded.

"Your fight is with me; it's always been with me. I wish you'd stop using defenseless men as your pawns," Sarah spat at him.

"Do you know this guy?" Micah managed finally. Sarah turned to face him.

"Yes, we met once upon a dream when I was girl," she said softly.

"Once upon a dream," Jareth mocked. "How poetic of you to remember it as such. I remember it as a nightmare. You destroyed my city!"

"You stole my brother," Sarah retorted.

"You wished him away," Jareth responded.

"I didn't know it was real," she replied.

"Ignorance is not a legal defense Sarah. As I'm sure you're new plaything will tell you," Jareth said dryly.

"He is not my plaything! You cheated me in the Labyrinth," Sarah spat at him.

"You cheated me in the Labyrinth, Sarah. You beat it," Jareth said. Sarah smiled at him haughtily.

"Of course I beat it. Cheaters never prosper," she said childishly. Jareth laughed.

"Oh but we do. We do prosper and we usually win. We're just sorer losers. Well, Sarah, you've been wished away. And looks like I get to claim you. I don't think your boyfriend will survive the Labyrinth. Might get lost in an oubliette, not afraid of the dark, is he?" Jareth jeered. Sarah narrowed her eyes.

"Leave him be, Jareth. Your fight is with me," Sarah said.

"And now you're mine," he responded. Sarah shook her head.

"I know you don't like to play fair, Jareth, but this is ridiculous. I wasn't wished away to you or the goblins. I was wished away for a nice weekend," Sarah said angrily.

"I can give you a nice weekend," Jareth said seductively. Sarah shuddered, remembering when that tone had made her waiver and hating herself for it.

"Yes but knowing you, it would be followed by a swim in the Bog of Eternal Stench," Sarah replied. Jareth laughed.

"Only if you failed to please me. And I really don't think you would, would you Sarah?" Jareth said. Sarah shook her head.

"You have no power over me," Jareth replied. "And still I am your slave." Sarah narrowed her eyes.

"How are you my slave?" she asked.

"Was it so long ago that you do not remember? 'Love me, fear me, do as I say and I will be your slave?'" Jareth reminded her.

"But I do not love you, nor do I fear you," Sarah replied petulantly. Jareth laughed.

"You can lie to yourself, Sarah, and you can lie to me but you can not lie to the Labyrinth. You loved me once, and you fear me still, that is enough. I can not escape my edict to you, nor you escape yours to me. But I can fight you Sarah. And this time I will win," Jareth said. Sarah turned to look at Micah, scared out of his mind. She smiled at him apologetically. 'Sorry' she mouthed at him. She turned back to face Jareth.

"Alright, Goblin King, let the games begin," she said.

Micah looked around the office, empty of Sarah and Jareth, window still flapping open in the breeze. He sat down in Sarah's chair. Staring straight ahead he said aloud, "Obviously, Jerry isn't the only one having mental breakdowns."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I don't own the Labyrinth or any of the characters therein. Somebody much smarter than me does that.

Chapter Two 

Sarah looked around her and saw nothing but desert. And, of course, him, Jareth. She felt sick to her stomach. What had she done wrong to end up back here? She wasn't as brave as she used to be. She knew fear now. She was smarter than she used to be, and faster and more inclined to think before she acted. But brazen impulse was what won her the Labyrinth last time – that and unswerving dedication. What was she fighting for now? Her sanity? It was already gone and in three short minutes he'd already wrecked the life she'd built for herself. Damn him. Damn him to hell.

Jareth was watching her, calculating the changes. She was still so young to him. Still so foolish. He wondered what she was thinking, what she dreamed of last night and he wondered how to use it to his advantage. He had been waiting a long time for this rematch. She'd rejected him time and time again. He had warned her not to defy him. He was not jesting when he said it. It was time for Sarah to reap the consequences of her actions. She was a mere girl, a mere mortal and regardless not to be underestimated. This time, Jareth assured himself, he would win. And when he did…

"So what game are we to play this time?" Sarah asked, cutting off Jareth's thoughts. He scowled at her.

"Game? Was my Labyrinth merely a game to you Sarah? Well, I shall make sure that it is not so lenient this time. You will not receive help from your friends this time Sarah. And you will not run the same path. We are half a day's walk from the nearest gate. This is the Desert of Lost Hope. What lives here, Sarah, you must hope to never meet," Jareth said, producing a crystal to dance on his fingertips. Sarah frowned.

"Wait a minute, what are you saying? That I have to run your Labyrinth _again_? How long do I have? Is my aim still your castle? Or is it too ruined from my last visit?" Sarah asked him. Jareth suppressed a wince at the memory of his beloved city as a pile of rubble. She had learned which of his buttons to press.

"My castle is just fine thank you, and you may see it. In twenty-four hours. You have a day to run the Labyrinth," Jareth said.

"Or what?" Sarah asked him. Jareth looked at her questioningly.

"Well, at this point, you usually issue an 'or else' don't you? Like, I'll never see my baby brother again," Sarah explained, speaking like Jareth was a child. Jareth laughed.

"Oh yes, you are right of course. Or you'll never see your baby brother again," Jareth mimicked. Sarah scowled at him.

"C'mon Jareth, tell me what I'll lose. Tell me what the prize is," Sarah dared him. Jareth grinned wickedly.

"The prize… and give you something to play for? I don't think so, Sarah," Jareth retorted, remembering the Crystal Ballroom. Sarah thought about arguing but decided it would just pander to what he wanted. She didn't want to give him anymore power than he already had.

"If you're my slave, can I not just wish you to let me win?" Sarah asked him tiredly. She really did not want to do this. She wanted to turn around and never see him ever again.

"Every wish will incur a negative reaction equal to the positive action," Jareth said superiorly. Sarah repeated him under her breath.

"So if I wish for three more hours," Sarah began. "I'll get it, but I'll be held up for three hours?" Jareth smiled.

"Such a clever girl. You've got the general idea. So you see, it will do you no good to wish your way out of this one Sarah. You'll simply have to make the best of it," Jareth said. He gestured in the general direction of the gate.

"The gate is that way," he said. "Start walking." And with that, he disappeared.

Sarah stared at the space he used to occupy for a beat. _Thank goodness he's gone_, she thought to herself as she began walking in the direction he indicated. _His arrogant posturing was really starting to piss me off._ She kept a steady pace, focusing intently on walking in a straight line. Little voice in her head started trying to speak to her. '_You've already lost everything, why not just give up now?'_ one said. _'You'll never win,'_ another chimed in. _'He's stronger, older and smarter than you are,'_ a third whispered. Sarah shook her head. What had Jareth called this place? The Desert of Lost Hope? More like the Desert of Jareth's Ego, she snorted to herself as she kept walking, blocking all the voices out with a monologue of what she was going to do to Jareth once she caught up with him, and got the sand out of her shoes.

Jareth was waiting for her when she arrived at the gate. He looked bored, but Sarah could tell he was pissed off. She knew she'd made excellent time.

"You made good time, Sarah. But then, you live in fear of me, don't you? You run everyday just in case I make you run the Labyrinth again?" Jareth taunted her. Sarah's anger throbbed through her veins and her eye's flickered.

"My hatred of you spurs me on when I grow weak," she spat at him. Jareth glared at her.

"Do not say things you may live to regret, Sarah," Jareth reminded her. Sarah just scowled at him.

"Can we move this along, you're wasting my time," she said indignantly.

"So you really think you can beat me again, do you? We'll soon find out either way. Have _fun_ Sarah," Jareth tossed at her before disappearing. Sarah suppressed a scream of frustration. How she hated him! That's good, she told herself, use it. Don't let it make you weak, let it make you strong, she told herself. She placed her hands on her hips and looked up at the gates. They were three times her height, the length of her house wide and made of what appeared to be a very heavy metal. And they were very, very overgrown. Now, she said, how am I going to get through here?

Sarah thought back to the last time she'd entered a gate to the Labyrinth. She remembered Hoggle and his little door. She remembered the Goblin King's words. Nothing is as it seems in his Labyrinth, she reminded herself. She looked up and down the gates for clues. There was movement around some of the vines and she saw some fresh prints on some of the joins. She folded her arms over her chest and smiled to herself.

"If you don't open these gates RIGHT NOW, you'll regret it," Sarah yelled.

"Why? Whatchya gonna do 'bout it?" a gruff little voice called out. Sarah's grinned broadened.

"I'll start singing, and you won't like it," Sarah replied.

"Singing? We likes singing. We likes it when the king sings," the voice said.

"I don't sing like the king, you won't like it," Sarah warned him.

"We's not opening these gates for nobody and nothin' sept the king hisself," the voice replied.

"I warned you," Sarah called out. "And once I start I shan't stop till this gates are opened." With that, she started singing 'Somebody to Love.' She couldn't think of anything else off the top of her head. Her singing teacher used to beg her not to sing at school. Part of the reason she hadn't made it in acting was her inability to pick up rhythms in speech properly. Her voice warbled as she got loud her, ridiculously off key and out of time. She closed her eyes and kept bellowing. She was just about to finish it off when she heard movement.

"Wes opens the gate! Wes opens the gate! Stops your singing! Stops it! Wes opens the gate!" the voice was crying out as it fought to open it as quickly as possible. Sarah smiled to herself as the gate opened. She stepped inside and looked at the small goblin who had pulled it open. He really was tragically ugly. She smiled at him anyway.

"Thank you very much," she said to him. Wes looked at her in horror.

"No more singing! Castle's that way," he said pointing. "Just no more singing!" Sarah thanked him again and set off in the direction he'd pointed out. Sometimes, faults were perks.


	3. Chapter 3

_Authors Note – I don't own the Labyrinth or any of the characters therein. _

_And I've been flamed severely for my earlier statements regarding J/S love stories. I don't mind them if they are well-written, logical and true to character. I don't like them when people manipulate the characters to suit their purposes for no good reason. I do read J/S happily ever after stories and I do enjoy some of them. I still think the majority of them annoy the cells out of my brain._

_On with the story…_

Chapter Three 

Sarah looked around her and realized that she was completely lost. Her driving force for the past… must be half an hour… had been how much she wanted to hurt Jareth. Specifically, she was thinking about kicking him. Hard. In the balls. While he was wearing those tights. Oh yeah, that would hurt. What she hadn't been thinking about was where she was going. She was in a hedge maze of some sort, and it was at least twice as tall as she was. She hadn't seen a living thing other than that poor gate-keeper. She had no bearings, no idea where she was going and she was running out of steam. She wasn't a hater, by nature, or a complainer. She was steady get-the-job-done kind of a girl. She usually let her anger simmer away under the surface but, well, it was under the surface. It wasn't usually her driving force. She was at a complete loss of what she was striving for. She wished he'd told her. Even if it had been something as melodramatic as her life – which it probably was. But she couldn't invent the goal herself. She just couldn't do it. And all she wanted to do was win. Or sit here and cry. It was tough choice.

"Giving up so soon?" Jareth's voice echoed around her head. Sarah spun around, searching for him.

"What do you want now Jareth?" she demanded, standing in the exact center of the path and hoping that was going to be far enough from whatever was going to come out of the hedges.

"Just to congratulate you Sarah, on your ingenuity and the gate," he replied. Sarah smiled smugly to herself.

"You didn't think I'd get in, did you?" she asked. Jareth laughed contemptuously.

"I knew you'd find some way in. You are not one to underestimated, Sarah, I learned that last time," Jareth said. "I learned that you were resourceful, so I've given you no resources. I learned you make friends easily, so I've removed every living being from your path. I learned you were goal-oriented so I've given you no goals." Oh but you just did, Sarah thought to herself. I'm going to beat you – I don't care anymore, it's goal enough for me, she thought. Sarah smiled.

"I'm glad you've put some more effort in this time. Should make the game a little more fun," Sarah taunted him. Jareth laughed again.

"I remember your fear, little girl. Do you? I remember your fear of the Helping Hands, the Fireys and every little unusual thing the Labyrinth threw at you. Fun was not the word you would use to describe my Labyrinth, is it Sarah?" Jareth mocked her. Sarah wished he would just appear. His disembodied voice was most disconcerting.

"Weren't you the one who said you were exhausted from living up to my expectations? Who said you weren't alone?" Sarah replied. Jareth laughed again.

"The clock is still ticking and time is running out," Jareth said.

He smiled at Sarah through his crystal ball. She was so lost and helpless. And she was heading in the wrong direction. He laughed.

"Foolish girl. You might have beaten me once, but you will not beat me again," he scorned before laughing. He looked around at the goblins in his throne room. "Why aren't you laughing?" he demanded. The goblins dissolved into fits of laughter and Jareth smiled contentedly. Victory was all but his.

Sarah cursed under her breath. He infuriated her like no one else could. How dare he make her run this accursed Labyrinth again? How dare he make her run it a first time? How dare he steal her baby brother? How dare he twist the words of a mortal man? How dare he do this to her! She took a step forward and stopped. Jareth was not a man to taunt her when she was winning. She looked forward, and then back. She turned slowly.

"I bet you all the stolen children in Goblin City that I'm heading in the wrong direction," she said aloud. She started off in the direction she had just come from, counting steps this time, not marking stones. Jareth wasn't the only one who'd learned how to do things better since last time.

At the first turn, Sarah cursed not having a pen. If she wished for one… it would not write, so there was no point. She'd just have to remember it. She'd taken twenty-seven steps. Micah, she remembered, was twenty-seven years old. On Micah's twenty-seventh birthday, he'd broken the left heel of his shoe, she invented the story as she turned left, trying to hold the facts in her head. When she was sixteen, her father had taught her always to turn left in a maze – that way you find the center faster. She smiled to herself as she took another left turn after sixteen paces, this really was too easy. She couldn't use the trick here, of course, because it would change on her. The Labyrinth had a mind all of it's own – and it liked to change itself every now and then, just for fun. The Labyrinth turned from hedges to ice. Sarah was fascinated by the new turn the Labyrinth had taken, but she didn't stop. Because through the ice, just faintly, she could see very familiar sandstone. And, if she stood right up on her toes, she could see the Castle.

Jareth threw the crystal against the wall and the goblins, who hadn't yet stopped laughing, were suddenly silenced.

"That impetuous girl! That cruel wench! How dare she turn onto the right path! How dare she figure out she was heading in the wrong direction! Nobody told her, she just… turned around. Foolish girl – when I have won; when she has lost, she will pay for this," Jareth shouted and about sixty-three goblins made very hasty exits from the throne room. "I will not stand for this," Jareth said quietly, scheming his next move. A devilish smile spread across his face. "Oh yes," he said, producing a crystal. "That's perfect."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I don't own the Labyrinth. Still. And will continue to do so for a very long time. Especially as I don't really have any desire to own it. It's a bit too much responsibility for little old me to handle.

Chapter Four 

Sarah froze in her tracks. Something wasn't right. She could feel it tingling at the back of her neck and prickling at the hairs on her arms. Behind her to the left, something was wrong. Very wrong. She clenched her fists and released them slowly, instructing herself to calm down. It was not unusual for her to get these feelings. But while she was in the Labyrinth, she knew they were her only defense against whatever surprise Jareth had lined up for her.

To keep pressing on? To turn back? To take the next right, instead of the next left? To run? To walk? There were so many options and while Sarah knew there was something there she did not know which way would be best to avoid it. The surprise, whatever it was, was not going to be a nice one. Sarah took a tentative step forward. A scream echoed in the maze as she took another forward. She cursed under her breath. Her heart told her to go back. She knew to whom the scream belonged. She'd forgotten Jareth had as much power over the wisher as he did the wish-ee, as it were. If it were a trap? Who was she kidding- it was a trap. She was stuck. She was unable to press forward knowing that Micah could be in trouble. She was unable to go back knowing that it was a trap designed to slow her down. And what if it was Micah? What if he was here in the Labyrinth? He'd just slow her down anyway. She hated herself for thinking such horrible things but it was true. He'd be afraid and he wasn't a child, he didn't over-indulge in fantasy and he didn't have an over-active imagination. There was nothing logical or understandable or accessible about the situation they were in and he'd just panic and be confused. And do dumb-ass things, convinced he was in a dream, like try to fly. He'd make her wish. Micah was dangerous to her while she was running the Labyrinth. She cursed once more as she realized how much time she was wasting, paralyzed with indecision. She'd never forgive herself if she left Micah.

Jareth laughed as Sarah turned back. He knew she wouldn't be able to help herself. It hadn't even needed to be someone she loved. Sarah, little good-hearted heroine, would even save ugly, scary, useless Ludo. She was so predictable. It almost took the fun out of it. Almost. Sarah found her way so quickly to where Micah was that he almost suspected her of having a map. But that was impossible. There were no maps to the Labyrinth – for it changed as often as it liked. He smiled as Sarah peered around the final bend. A satisfied glow spread throughout his body at the look of pure horror on her face.

Micah was half frozen in an ice wall. And about sixty little goblins with rather long and pointy spears were stabbing him. Sarah tried not to make any noise as Micah kept screaming in pain. She forced herself to stay rational. She'd rushed in to save Ludo when she was younger. She'd been exceptionally lucky that Ludo had been a Rock-Caller. She knew how ferocious the goblins could be. She knew how much those spears would hurt as they ripped into her flesh. She knew that if she failed to save Micah soon, he'd be dead. Or too hurt to move. And she'd lose. She would lose and she would lose everything. Jareth would not be lenient. Her life would be over. Knowing Jareth it would not be anything as merciful as death. She could not lose. And she could not leave Micah to die at the hands of a platoon of goblins. She looked around for a weapon and realized that she didn't have one. This wasn't the rock maze, it was ice. This wasn't one little gate-keeper – these goblins would probably stab her to shut her up. She felt her pockets for anything she might have. A letter opener. A pack of gum. A couple of tissues. Sarah narrowed her eyes and fumed inwardly. There had to be a way. But there wasn't, and she knew it. There was no way but rushing out there, yelling loudly and kicking as many of them as she could. And so, with a deep breath, that is exactly what she did.

Jareth watched in utter amazement as Sarah flung herself around the tiny ice yard – sending his soldiers left and right with flying kicks and the others running at the sound of her voice. Jareth winced at the noise she was making himself. He was transfixed with a horror bordering on amazement as all of his vicious, marauding goblins fled.

"Don't run away! Get back there and run her through with your spears," he shouted. "You useless pathetic sniveling morons! You cowardly frightened little idiots! You have spears – there are more of you! Why are you running away?" He continued to shout until one little goblin stopped, looked up at the sky and said:

"Please forgive us, Goblin King, sir, but if she can destroy your city, what will she do to us?" Jareth stared at his crystal in disbelief for a moment.

"I will not put up with this," he said dispassionately. With a wave of his hand the entire squadron dropped into the Bog of Eternal Stench. Jareth turned to the goblins in his throne room.

"One would hope their replacements are not so useless," he said conversationally, as a warning. And the goblins knew exactly how to take it.

"Where am I?" Micah asked. "What's going on? What were those things? Why are you here?" Sarah sighed as she chipped away at the ice with the letter opener.

"You are in the Labyrinth," Sarah replied.

"The what?" Micah asked.

"The Labyrinth," Sarah repeated. "It's the land that surrounds the Goblin City. You met Jareth, the Goblin King, earlier this evening in your offices. Traditionally, the Labyrinth is used to test the people who wish babies away. You have to run the Labyrinth in under thirteen hours successfully to get your child back. The Labyrinth is not located in the world as you know it. It is located 'Underground' – in a magical realm beneath the Earth as we know it."

"But… I didn't wish away a child. Did you?" Micah asked. Sarah sighed again.

"No. You wished me away for a nice weekend, remember? And Jareth had been holding a grudge against me because I ran the Labyrinth in under thirteen hours and won my baby brother back. So he twisted your words in order to get me back down here to run the Labyrinth again," Sarah explained, still chipping away. She almost wished the ice would melt faster and cursed herself silently. She couldn't afford any wishes, she was already so far behind schedule.

"You wished away Toby?" Micah asked incredulously. "But you love that kid."

"Yes, I do. I did then too. But I was feeling maligned and abused and well… I didn't know it was real. I was just a little girl reciting her favorite story," Sarah shrugged. "And then all this happened." She was nearly finished chipping away at the ice.

"Okay, so why am I here?" Micah asked.

"Because Jareth has as much power over the person who made the wish as the person who was wished away," Sarah explained, wishing he'd shut up and let her finish getting him out.

"So those things with the spears… what were they?" Micah asked.

"Goblins," Sarah replied.

"But Jareth is the king and he doesn't look like them," Micah pointed out. Sarah stopped chipping and looked up at Micah.

"Things are not always what they appear in the Labyrinth. And nothing is as you would expect. Those were warnings, not proverbs," Sarah said seriously before turning back to the ice. She only had one leg to go. This was taking so long!

"So you're running the Labyrinth?" Micah asked.

"I don't have a lot of choice in the matter," Sarah replied stonily.

"And now I'm running the Labyrinth too?" Micah asked. Sarah sighed.

"I imagine so. If you want to live, that is, you'd better stick with me. And even then, there are no guarantees. I mean, last time, I almost died so many times! If it wasn't for Hoggle and Ludo and Sir Didymus…," Sarah said, her voice trailing off.

"Who are those guys?" Micah asked. Sarah smiled at him gently.

"Just friends from my first run. But Jareth has forbidden me from getting their help," she said. Micah nodded slowly.

"Is he watching us?" Micah asked. Sarah stabbed at the ice extra hard, picturing it was Jareth.

"You can bet he is," Sarah spat. "You can bet that asshole is in his freaking castle, staring into a crystal ball, grinning like a Cheshire cat that I'm here letting myself be slowed down. And that he just dumped all those goblins in the Bog of Eternal Stench for running away."

"Bog of Eternal Stench?" Micah asked. Sarah winced at the memory.

"That is one place we will most certainly being trying to avoid on our tour of the Labyrinth," Sarah said as she finished freeing Micah. Micah stepped out of the ice and wriggled a little, trying to get circulation back through his body.

"You seem to know a lot about this Jareth character," Micah said. Sarah smiled ruefully.

"Character… now that's a good way to describe that loathsome beast. He's predictable. Just as predictable as I am. Which is what's going to make this run so very, very interesting," Sarah said, setting off in the direction which she had come from. Micah followed behind her, not knowing exactly what to say and not entirely sure that it was safe to follow her anyway. By her own admission, Jareth was out to get her. And she nearly died last time – would have without the help of friends she can't use this time. Maybe he was better off on his own? He decided to think about it. But for now, he didn't know enough not to follow Sarah. And her bum looked really good from this angle. Sarah paused just ahead of him and looked over her shoulder.

"Are you okay? I know you've just been stabbed, like, one hundred and twenty times, but I really need to keep moving," she said. Micah nodded.

"Yeah, it's cool. I'll let you know if I can't keep up," he said. Sarah smiled gratefully and kept moving. Micah followed silently, trying to figure out his next line of questioning.

Jareth glared at his crystal. That little upstart thought _he_ was predictable? And she was heading in the right direction. He'd give her predictable. He flung a crystal ball out of the window of the throne room without the usual amount of care. It would find where it was going. And make a bang when it got there…


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I, Sarai McDougall, do not own, nor have I ever owned, the Labyrinth or any of the characters therein.

_So, ladies and gents, faithful readers, I feel like I'm about mid way. Anyone have any requests? Any ideas as to what will happen next? Who is going to win? It's anyone's game as Magical Jareth takes on Sarah the Determined and Micah the Dubious lingers in the background…_

Chapter Five 

Micah watched Sarah as she paused and looked left and right. For the first time in about three hours she looked like she was lost. The maze had turned from ice to hedge and hedge to winding paths. Sarah hadn't been fazed – she'd just walked on with the same determined pace he'd never seen her use before. If he tried to talk to her she just glared at him before giving him a short answer. Every time he even tried to bring up Jareth or whatever his name was, Sarah cut him off before he could even finish saying the name and he wasn't sure why. This wasn't the girl he knew. Or that he loved. She was someone else and Micah was captivated. Sarah was a force to be reckoned with in this place. It almost suited her. But this indecision scared him completely. And the thoughts of leaving her flooded back to him.

Sarah looked left and right, her feet not leaving the path. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Micah frown. She had no idea which way to go. She could see the Firey's forest, the Junkyard, the Bog and a couple of other places she hadn't been before. She was lost. She'd lost count and she knew exactly when she did it too. It was right when Micah nearly said Jareth's name aloud. Sarah could not allow that to happen. But right now… maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. She smiled. Jareth would give her all the clues she'd need without ever having to wish. He'd heard everything. He would know that she thought him predictable. And he'd relish her silent challenge. She was about to call out to him when she saw a crystal ball floating just above her head.

"Shit, Micah!" Sarah shouted, grabbing him from the edge of the path and standing in the center. She watched the ball carefully. Micah cocked his head and wondered what all the fuss was about. Just a little crystal ball. He broke away from Sarah's clutches.

"No, get back here!" Sarah cried out. "Get back from the edge."

"There is no edge, Sarah, just a windy path with grass edges," Micah said, waving his arm over the edge. The crystal ball hit the ground and Sarah could hear Jareth's laughter.

A force exploded, forcing her backwards on the path, knocking her over. It knocked Micah so he fell half on and half off the path. In the blink of an eye metal spires shot up from the edges of the path, like prison bars topped with spearheads. Sarah shut her eyes as tightly as she could. She knew what had just happened. She knew the Labyrinth was dangerous. Of course she knew that. But she hadn't… believed it. Not in her heart of hearts. She hadn't believed Jareth would ever kill a runner. And he just had. As sure as she was alive, Micah had just been skewered.

Jareth wasn't happy. Death was messy. And permanent. There was no fun to be had with a dead person. That stupid boy. That it was real and lethal was meant to scare, not kill. He might have been angry enough to wish someone dead, but he'd never actually go through with it. Too much paperwork. He much preferred dipping someone in the Bog. Or causing them ridiculous amounts of pain and keeping them alive. There was nothing he could do. Unless… Jareth had a marvelous idea. He turned to the goblin nearest him.

"You there. Don't let anyone destroy the castle while I'm gone," he said, before disappearing.

He reappeared right in front of Sarah. Jareth clicked his tongue sympathetically. She was still screwed up in a ball with her eyes firmly closed, hating that she couldn't move.

"You know Sarah, you can fix this," Jareth said.

"Go away Jareth," she replied.

"I mean it Sarah, I am your slave. All you have to do," Jareth said seductively, kneeling down beside her. Sarah opened her eyes and sat up, staring at him defiantly.

"You hold it right there mister," Sarah snapped at him. "Don't even make me think that." Jareth frowned.

"You could save his life," Jareth pointed out.

"You'd make it worse later," Sarah retorted. Jareth looked hurt.

"I don't like death, Sarah, it's messy," he said indignantly.

"Yet you live in a death trap. Tell me Jareth, if you're so big on living why let all those goblins stab him? Why skewer him on a death spire?" Sarah demanded. Jareth sighed.

"It's not my fault if he got in the way of the spires," Jareth said. Sarah stood up and looked Jareth in the eye. She'd forgotten how difficult that was to do without losing all resolve. They were so easy to get lost in. She hardened herself.

"You killed him Jareth, you. You get to live with that. Besides, I thought you moved the stars for no one," Sarah taunted him. Jareth took a step closer.

"I've moved them for you before, you foolish girl, do not tease me," Jareth whispered dangerously. Sarah gave him a sarcastic smile, but stepped back slightly. She forced herself to look at Micah just once. The wish was instantaneous and she could not stop it. Jareth smiled smugly and a look of pure horror plastered itself on Sarah's face.

"Oh shit," she whispered. "I didn't mean it."

"What's said is said. I thought you learnt a long time ago about saying things you didn't mean," Jareth taunted her smugly as a crystal ball danced on his fingertips.

"You can be cruel," Sarah replied as the spires went down and Micah sat up. Jareth laughed.

"It was your wish," he said. Sarah shook her head as she looked at Micah standing up. There was something different. He wasn't dead… he wasn't alive. He was… a zombie? Sarah almost laughed.

"This is ridiculous," Sarah said.

"Opposite and equal effects," Jareth reminded her. Sarah laughed.

"C'mon, even you have to admit this is bullshit," she said. Jareth smirked.

"Well, it's not exactly what I had planned. But the Labyrinth has it's own ideas sometimes," Jareth admitted. Micah looked at them blankly. Sarah sighed and turned to Jareth.

"Are you going to leave him like this?" she asked him. Jareth grinned.

"It does seem a little cruel," Jareth thought aloud.

"You can be cruel," Sarah repeated. Jareth nodded.

"But even I am not that cruel," he replied. "This changes nothing," he added, as Micah laid down, dead again. Sarah's heart contorted. She thanked God or whoever was listening that this was happening here and not in her world. She couldn't handle it if Micah had died in her world.

"No," Sarah replied softly. "This changes everything." Jareth looked at her for a moment.

"Are you giving up?" Jareth asked.

"No," Sarah said.

"You've got thirteen hours to run the Labyrinth to the Castle beyond the Goblin City," Jareth said. Sarah nodded.

"Thanks. I best be going then," she said. Sarah turned and started walking.

"Wait, Sarah," Jareth said. She stopped and turned slowly.

"What is it?" she asked warily, the old feelings of anger slowly creeping back after such a bizarre exchange. A crystal danced on his fingertips.

"I can offer you your dreams, Sarah," he said, almost desperately. Sarah scoffed at him.

"You can, but you're not. You're offering me my nightmare and really, I'd rather not. See you in thirteen hours," she replied lightly before taking off.

Jareth returned the castle and sat quietly on his throne. He wasn't sure what had just happened. He had no idea why he'd just offered Sarah her dreams again. He didn't want to give them to her. He just… didn't know what else to do. She couldn't win. That was all he knew. She couldn't. And he couldn't keep going to her. She did strange things to his head. And all it did was make him angrier.

Sarah jogged along the path with a steely determination. She was confused by Jareth's actions. Offering her dreams? He couldn't have meant it. He was almost… they were almost compatible with what happened to Micah. Micah. His name spurned her on. She allowed her anger to come back. He'd killed Micah. He'd killed the man she loved. Thought she'd loved. The second they were in the Labyrinth together she'd… dismissed him. That wasn't love, she decided, not real true love. But she did love him dearly as a friend. And he was still dead. Because of Jareth. That word-twisting, baby-stealing, heartless, magical Goblin King. He was destroying her life. That bastard forcing her down here to run his freaking Labyrinth. She sped up as she entered the forest. She had no idea how she was going to get out of there but she knew she had to keep going. She just hoped the Firey's were napping…


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I, Sarai McDougall, do not own, nor have I ever owned, the Labyrinth or any of the characters therein. 

Chapter Six

'_We remember you,' _the disembodied voices echoed around Sarah as she strode on determinedly. Her run had slowed down to a brisk walk. The voices were making her nervous. 

'_That's not how you play the game; you're breaking the rules,'_ the voices squawked at her. Sarah took a deep breath, trying not to think about it, and kept walking. She'd almost, almost, rather be edging her way around the Bog. But she had chosen this path and there were Firey's here, somewhere, waiting to tear her head off. And she'd known it when she chose. It was her own fault, really, she reminded herself, if they did tear her head off.

She stopped, dead in the middle of where she was walking. She hadn't really handled the Fireys very well. Everywhere else she had gone she had made friends. Not here. Here she'd broken the rules, hurt people, and then run. If it weren't for Hoggle, she would have been trapped here too. What made her think she could scale that wall without him now? But that was beside the point. She owed the Fireys an apology even if they did rip her head off.

"I'm sorry," she shouted. "I should have played by the rules." She waited a moment, and hearing only silence, decided to keep walking. Well, jogging. Silence in the Forbidden Forest really didn't seem like a good thing. A Firey, just the one, stepped into her path. _Oh shit_, Sarah thought to herself,_ this is it._ She froze. The Firey started to move it's head. And then it's feet. Two more jumped in behind it and started to join in the dance. Sarah was really, really confused. Three more Fireys jumped in behind the others and Sarah took a step backward. She really didn't want to leave the path. And she knew she had to keep going. How long had it been since Jareth had said it was thirteen hours? And she knew she still had to find a way out of here. Sarah briefly considered ripping their heads off again and making a run for it. But she knew that it would probably in the end be counter-productive. 

As four more Firey's joined the dance, Sarah cleared her throat.

"While I love watching you dance, I'm kind of in a hurry. I'm running the Labyrinth and I need to get to the Castle," she announced. 

"We know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know, we know," sang the Fireys. "But just stay and play awhile."

"I can't," Sarah begged them. "I've only got a few hours left." She took a tentative step forward.

"Stay and watch us," one Firey said. 

"Stay and play," another chimed in.

"Take your head off!" screamed another as they advanced in on her.

"My head doesn't come off!" Sarah yelled. More Fireys joined the group as they continued to come towards her. She took another step back and nearly knocked a Firey over. She was surrounded. If she left the path, she knew she'd be lost. She felt hands grab her head and she knew she had no choice. 

"I'm sorry," she cried out before running as fast as she could to her left, trying to count steps but knowing it would be useless in the end. She'd just left the path in the Forbidden Forest. She could consider herself lost. 

Twenty minutes later, Sarah was completely lost. She sat down, exhausted and frustrated, at the base of a tree trunk, fighting back tears. She'd lost Micah. Lost the Labyrinth. Lost everything to Jareth. Lost her life. She shook her head. It wasn't fair. She almost laughed out loud at those words. 

"Nothing is fair," she said aloud. "Life isn't fair. Why should I expect the Labyrinth to be any different?" 

"Because it's a place made of dreams?" Jareth asked her. She stood up in shock. 

"I didn't call you," Sarah accused him. Jareth gave his trademark half-grin.

"I know. I came to make sure you knew you were totally and hopelessly lost," he replied lazily. Sarah exhaled angrily.

"Thank you. I'm aware. Goodbye," she replied. Sarah had no use for him there. She didn't want him there. 

"You still have twelve hours, Sarah," Jareth reminded her. Sarah glared at him.

"Thank you, Information Desk," Sarah replied snakily. 

"Tut tut tut, Sarah," Jareth scolded her in a bored tone. "Sarcasm will get you nowhere."

"But wishes will? Thanks but no thanks, Jareth. I saw what happened to Micah," she tossed at him, starting to walk away for something to do.

"You left the path, Sarah. How did you expect to get back there?" he asked curiously. Sarah stopped and turned around.

"I didn't. But I figured that whatever you had planned for me… it wouldn't include having my head torn off and tossed around by Fireys," she said with a shrug.

"So you gave up? Forfeited? Because really Sarah, how much pleasure am I suppose to take in that? Don't you wish you'd had a better go of it? Gotten a little further? Not chosen to go into the forest?" Jareth offered. Sarah narrowed her eyes and emptied her mind. 

"I do not wish for anything. I had hoped… but that is not important. What's done is done. I still have twelve hours," Sarah said, renewed determination settling in her mind. How dare he come to gloat? He hadn't won yet! Jareth grinned at her.

"Very well, Sarah. Would you like to know which way it is back to the path?" Jareth asked. Sarah laughed.

"Please, that would just be asking for trouble. Stop bothering me Jareth, I've got a Labyrinth to solve," she said as she stalked off. Jareth watched her for a moment before appearing back at the castle.

Jareth watched as Sarah found her way instinctively back to the path. He longed to know how she did it. She seemed to find her way on blind intuition once she focused on where she had to go. He wondered if the Labyrinth was helping her, but dismissed the thought. The Labyrinth was _his_. It was one of his subjects, loyal to him. He was its _creator_. Surely the Labyrinth gave its fealty to him, not some stupid mortal girl. She'd all but given up when he had gone to see her, and he knew it. Jareth knew the risks of what he had done, baiting her into continuing. She might still solve it, might. It was within the realm of possibility, but not probability. Unless she found every single shortcut from the Forest to the Castle, he was fine. But he didn't want this victory, the one he'd never wanted anything more than in his entire life, to be bittersweet. He didn't want her to give up before she'd started. He wanted her to fall to his charms. Or to his Labyrinth. But he wanted her to be so close she could taste it. And then to fail. Jareth wanted Sarah to spend the rest of her living days knowing that she was a hair's breath away from besting him for a second time. But she just didn't have quite what it took. He wanted regret and pain and almosts to haunt her. He wanted them to hound her. Torture her. To turn her into what he became when she won. Vengeful, bitter and angry - and desperate for a re-match. A re-match that would never come. He would be her lord and master for the rest of her natural born days. Until he could figure out how to be lord and master of the rest of the days of existence. She would be under his control until the end of eternity of he could manage it. All she had to do was fail. Victory was so close he could taste it. He laughed maliciously as Sarah stumbled back onto the path. 

He'd lied to her. She only had eleven hours left. It would take at least twelve to get to the castle.

"Run, run, run, as fast as you can, little girl," Jareth said aloud as Sarah started to jog along the path. "You'll never make it."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I don't own the Labyrinth or any of the characters therein

A/N: I don't own the Labyrinth or any of the characters therein. And can I just say that I'm very touched and thankful for all the people that take the time to review my story every single time I put up a chapter? Honestly, this story would have stopped about two chapters ago without you all. So thanks.

And does anyone have any idea how hard it is not to wish?

Chapter Seven

Sarah tried not to be too amazed that she'd actually managed to find her way back to the path. She tried not to slow down because she was still in the Forest and there was a good chance the Fireys were still out there somewhere. Sarah tried not to think that the path might be an illusion. She tried not to think about the Fireys. More than anything, Sarah was trying to stay alert.

If Jareth had told her the truth, she'd been running, walking, jogging – moving anyway – almost constantly for the past thirteen hours. She'd been taken at the end of the day. So she'd been awake now for… twenty-three hours. In the past thirteen she'd pushed herself to her break point of emotional endurance, and yet she kept pulling out a little more. She was more exhausted than she wanted to admit. Physically, she wondered how much she had left in her. Mentally, she knew she was pretty drained. The Labyrinth was the biggest endurance test on every level that there was. You ran it in desperation and fear and you pushed yourself until you could go no further. The Labyrinth was not an easy run for anyone and the end was just at everyone's last ditch effort. Last time, Sarah knew she'd had no more reserve to draw on once she crossed the threshold of the Escher Room. But she found it – her love for her brother renewed it. What would pull her through this time? What would hold her up to say her 'right words'? Were there even right words? She hadn't done the wishing this time, Micah had. And he was dead. Did that mean she forfeited? Had she already lost and he was making her run this for kicks?

She added that to the list of things she couldn't think about. Her eyes were heavy and her vision hazy. Her limbs felt leaden. She had to find some more something from somewhere – any emotion to keep her moving. The hate that had driven her to start with had worn away. The more he came and saw her, the more she understood him. He was as angry as she was. You can't fight anger with anger. But you can't fight it with calm either. Micah didn't feel real anymore. How could it be, in this place? Nothing felt real here because nothing was real. What had Jareth said? _'Because this place is made of dreams?'_ Sarah would have liked to know what he meant. And where this apparent change of heart came from. Every other time she had decried something unfair, he'd just scoffed at her. Taunted her with what her basis for comparison was. Fairness. Sarah focused on the word while she kept walking.

All she wanted to do was sleep.

Little did Sarah know that she was no longer in the Firey's part of the Forbidden Forest. She had passed through the home of the tree goblins without noticing them. And she had entered the Grove of Lost Dreamers. Runner after runner had fallen asleep here and never woken up again. Jareth watched, wondering if she knew. She was still right on track. She'd taken three turns, almost without thinking about it, it seemed. Like she knew exactly where she was going. It wasn't possible, he knew, for her to know. But he wanted to know how she was doing it. Jareth watched as Sarah slowed down, bit by bit. He watched as she stopped walking in straight line, started weaving her way along the path as though intoxicated. He smiled as the Sand-Imps dusted her with sleeping sand. And Jareth laughed as he caught her mouthing words to herself. 'Just a little farther,' she said. 'Just a little'.

"Just a little farther," Sarah whispered to herself. "C'mon, I can do this." _'Sleep now, Sarah, sleep now,'_ a little voice she could swear was hers whispered in her head. It was so seductive. Such a wonderful idea. She'd already lost anyway, hadn't she? She'd no idea what to do when she got to the Castle. Hell, she wasn't sure she'd make it to the castle anyway. She might as well lie down a little. Didn't that grassy patch look so inviting, so comfortable?

"No, I have to keep going," Sarah reprimanded herself. "I can do this. Just a little farther."

"Oh Sarah," Jareth said. "Would it be so hard for you to give in? You'd all but given up when I last saw you. Now look at you." He smiled to himself smugly. Victory, he felt, was as good as his. The goblins in the throne room laughed and one actually managed to catch a chicken. Jareth scowled. He hated the messy things. Then he grinned. Maybe that could be Sarah's first job after losing the Labyrinth. Cleaning up all the chicken droppings in his castle. He laughed loudly. All the goblins froze and looked up at him. He looked at them in exasperation.

"Well, laugh then," he instructed and they all collapsed in hysterics. Jareth smiled smugly as he watched Sarah sit down on the grassy patch, specially designed for capturing a weary runner.

Sarah looked at her hands and saw them shimmer. She frowned through the sleepy fog that had descended over her. Something wasn't right. She rubbed her hands together and could barely feel the thin grit of dust. But it was there. She frowned. How dare Jareth trap her like this? How dare she fall for it? She tried to stand up again but couldn't. She couldn't fight it anymore. Not now she was sitting down. She sighed deeply. A tear slipped down her cheek. She'd lost. She'd lost because she was weak enough to stop running. She laid back on the grass, unable to even sit up any longer. She closed her heavy eyes as another tear rolled down her cheek.

"I wish…," she mumbled tiredly without thinking. She barely stayed coherent enough to finish the thought. "I was stronger than this," she finished. She didn't have time to realize what she'd done before everything just faded away…


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I don't own the Labyrinth or any of the characters therein

A/N: I don't own the Labyrinth or any of the characters therein. Oh looky another chapter. It's coming to an end. Maybe one more after this. It's not ending like I thought it would. But as promised, no happily ever after.

Chapter Eight

Jareth's jaw dropped as he appeared in front of the sleeping Sarah. He could and yet he couldn't believe she'd made a wish. He felt the Labyrinth stir around him, waiting. He recalled the words. _"I wish I was stronger than this". _Then he recalled the true wish. The one Sarah had meant to say. _"I wish I were not vulnerable to the magic of the Labyrinth"._ It was a tricky wish. The words were much simpler to fulfill, but they were not a true wish. Jareth wondered if he could get around it. She had been wishing when she said it. The Labyrinth pulsed behind him and Jareth knew it had heard Sarah's true wish. He cursed inwardly.

"And what would be the equal and opposite reaction to this?" Jareth asked the Labyrinth conversationally. "If she's not vulnerable to it you can't make her completely vulnerable to it." Jareth mused over this for a moment.

_The Labyrinth's justice is not your concern, Goblin King_, the Labyrinth replied inside his mind. Jareth raised his eyebrows.

"I'm just asking. It's not like I have a choice whether or not to complete the wish. I'm her slave. I'm just… curious," Jareth replied archly. Things he could not escape were things he despised. He had regretted every single day since the one he had uttered his final edict to Sarah, his desperate plea for her fealty. And he lived seething at the knowledge that he had no power over Sarah - her final edict to him. It was so frustrating that even now, as she ran his Labyrinth again, he had to get the Labyrinth's permission to do the simplest thing to her, to fulfill her wishes. He had to rely on hurting Micah, the Firey's sense of justice and Sand-Imps doing what Sand-Imps did to slow her down.

Perform your magic, Goblin King, and leave the rest to the Labyrinth, the Labyrinth replied. Jareth's back was already up, and he was not used to anyone, let alone his Labyrinth issuing commands at him.

"Labyrinth, I demand that you tell me what you are going to do," Jareth shouted. Sarah shifted in her sleep, a sign that she was not too deep yet. This surprised Jareth, despite his anger. Once you feel asleep in the Grove, it usually meant deep instant permanent sleep. No stirring, no dreaming and certainly no consciousness of the world around them.

_The Labyrinth will do the only thing it can do, _it replied. _Goblin King will know what is done soon enough._ Jareth scowled as he plucked a crystal ball from thin air. There was no point in fighting the Labyrinth. And he had nearly run out of time to fulfill the wish. If he waited too much longer Sarah would win and he'd still have to fulfill her wish, only without the consequences. Jareth dropped the crystal onto Sarah's forehead with disdain. Jareth felt the Labyrinth pulse and shift around him, swarming forth to Sarah, before receding slowly.

_Equal and opposite reaction,_ the Labyrinth whispered as Sarah sat up slowly. The fog cleared from her mind as the Labyrinth continued, _Sarah now belongs to the Labyrinth and the Labyrinth belongs to Sarah._

Sarah and Jareth looked at each other, equally horrified.

"You are my Labyrinth!" Jareth shouted.

"What does this mean?" Sarah asked.

The Labyrinth is the Labyrinth's to give. Sarah can not be controlled by Goblin King. Sarah is invulnerable to the Labyrinth's magic. Sarah is the rightful Queen. She belongs to the Labyrinth now. She can never leave.

"I made you! I raised you from the ground. I built you up. I gave you yourself, Labyrinth. I am your King. _How dare you defy me_?!" Jareth yelled, fury emanating from him. Sarah pulled her knees up to her chest.

"I don't want this," Sarah whispered. "It's not my choice."

A wish is a wish Sarah Queen. Equal and opposite reaction, you were warned. The choice belongs to the Labyrinth and the Labyrinth has chosen.

Jareth glared at Sarah. She shrunk back from him. Never had she seen such fury in his eyes. She feared him. Jareth felt the pull of emotion and scowled. More fear. More fear to fuel the strength of his edict to her.

"You have stolen from me," Jareth said quietly. Sarah shook her head and looked up at him with a pity in her eyes.

"I did not take anything from you. You heard the Labyrinth, it was it's choice," Sarah replied softly.

"It was your wish," Jareth scowled. Sarah narrowed her eyes.

"I was barely conscious. I didn't know what I was doing. If I had known," Sarah began.

"If you'd known you would have done it earlier!" Jareth accused her. "How dare you, impertinent little girl. You have destroyed my city, solved my Labyrinth and stolen my heir. Now, you have taken the Labyrinth from me as well."

"I fought my way to your castle," Sarah retorted. "I wouldn't have broken I thing if you'd just let me through. You challenged me to solve your Labyrinth and I did. And I took my brother back, whom you stole! I did not steal your heir. Go rape some faerie somewhere and get a real one."

"I don't need to rape my women, thank you very much, little girl. But you'd like that, wouldn't you? Me to take you by force?" Jareth taunted her. Sarah stood up, anger flying from her.

"I would rather spend the next century gardening in the Bog of Eternal Stench than spend a second with your fingers on my skin," Sarah tossed back at him. Jareth was slightly wounded by her retort and it showed on his face. Sarah looked up in shock. She did love him, in her own way. She hated him with a passion, to be sure. But she loved him, secretly, illicitly, for fulfilling her wishes; for her last trip to the Labyrinth. Jareth felt the love, barely there, but there enough, binding him to his edict. He scowled. He would never escape it. He was bound for all eternity to fulfill Sarah's wishes, but never to exercise power over her. And now, it seemed, she'd be right there, in what used to be his Labyrinth for all eternity. A living, breathing, constant reminder that he had been bested.

Sarah's heart was racing. This couldn't be happening, could it? Ruling the Labyrinth?

"I don't suppose," she said aloud. "There's much point in me finishing the run, is there? I mean, it's my Labyrinth now so it would lead me straight there." Jareth scowled deeper.

"No, there really isn't," he conceded after a moment. He had lost his victory. He had lost Sarah as a plaything and gained her as an ever-present master.

"I don't suppose," Sarah said again. "That there's anyway of fixing this?"

_A/N: Definitely only one more chapter after this one. I nearly ended it here, but I'll draw it out for one more. But that's definitely it. I might wait three weeks before posting it too… just to make you all jumpy. Joking guys. Give me a week. Actually, I've got a "weekend" coming up in a couple of days… might wait till then so I can give you a really good chapter. Well, an okay chapter. This is me writing it after all. So review away, my friends, I appreciate all your comments. Even if I am really bad at getting back to everyone. SpaBath_


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I don't own the Labyrinth or any of the characters therein

_A/N: Howdy folks. I, the mighty SpaBath, do not own the Labyrinth. I owned Micah… but I killed him off… So maybe it's a good thing I don't own the Labyrinth, hey kids? And to be honest I was tempted to kill Sarah off. And then Jareth. And then I thought I could kill Jareth off with Sarah's accidental wish and then she'd die trying to save him on this weird gut instinct thing. You know the one. It's the one that drives you to make soup for your mortal enemy because he's sick. Anyway. On with the story!!_

Chapter Nine

Jareth looked at Sarah in surprise.

"Fix it? Whatever do you mean?" Jareth asked her, utterly confused. Confusion was a new emotion for the Goblin King and he was not entirely sure that he liked it. Sarah nodded.

"Fix it. The last thing I want is to be stuck here for all eternity. So, how do we fix it?" Sarah asked determinedly. She wasn't going to mope and sulk around. There were things to do, goals to achieve and plans to set in motion. She loved this new sense of direction. Everything in her celebrated her rediscovered determination.

"Why not? You'd be the most powerful being in the Underground. Your subjects would revere you. You could flaunt your victory day in and day out in front of my face. You could get your revenge, Sarah. What is there to fix?" Jareth asked her, still confused. Sarah sighed.

"You just don't get it, do you Jareth? This isn't about power or strength or revenge. I was happy enough to let sleeping dogs lie. I tried to forget this ever happened the first time around! I have a life back home. I have Toby and a job and an apartment and... _Stuff_. I can't just never go back. People would miss me, wouldn't they?" Sarah said, finishing in a question. Would people miss her? Would they? Would she even miss them? '_Forget the boy, think of what I'm offering you! Your dreams, Sarah,'_ Sarah remembered Jareth's words from her last visit. Was this her dream? To rule the place that had captivated her heart, then pushed her to the edge and made her who she was?

"No, Sarah, they won't miss you. Just like they won't miss whatever-his-name-was," Jareth replied gently with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Just like you wouldn't have missed Toby if you'd lost. Once you are claimed by the Labyrinth… it's almost like your existence gets deleted there. No one remembers you. You disappear from photos. You never had a job or an apartment or a brother or friends anymore. Because according to the world, you never were."

"I, I…. But I was. I was there," Sarah whispered. "Oh no. No. No." Sarah shook her head, struggling not to cry. Jareth was torn between mocking her and… well… he wasn't exactly sure what the alternative was. Whatever the case, he stood there like the most awkward statue the Labyrinth had ever had.

"Not anymore, Sarah. If you went back no one would know you. I'm not even sure that anyone could see you, except small children of course," Jareth replied. "This place is built of dreams, Sarah. You rule it. I would suggest that you get used to it. Or die suddenly, so I can get it back." Sarah narrowed her eyes, melancholy suddenly gone.

"I'll die when I'm good and ready, thank you Jareth. And my death would not achieve anything that I am aiming for," Sarah retorted angrily. Jareth thanked whoever was listening that she wasn't crying anymore. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a look from Sarah. He waited for her to speak.

"If I rule the Labyrinth, and the Labyrinth is made of dreams… does this mean that I can dream you out of my Labyrinth?" Sarah asked him. Jareth narrowed his eyes, trying to hide a modicum of panic that had built up in his chest.

"You wouldn't dare," Jareth replied in a bored tone. Sarah smiled at him.

"Wouldn't I? But then, I don't have to dream, do I, Jareth? You are my slave after all," Sarah said, realizing the truth, finally. "You have no power over me." Jareth clenched his fists, his entire body pulsing with fury.

"If you do it, you'll have no way home. You'll never figure it out," Jareth replied tersely. Sarah shrugged.

"I have no home, do I? You took that from me by bringing me here. If you could fix it, if you could be rid of me, you would be. Your hatred for me far outruns mine for you, Jareth," Sarah replied conversationally. Sarah had no spite in her heart as she said the words. She was done with it. She feared and loathed and loved the creature before her. But more than anything she pitied him. And it was her pity that Jareth could not abide, more than any other emotion. What was said in the Escher Room was inescapable. It is a room reserved for unbreakable promises – it twists and turns and bamboozles and tires, but it never pretends to be something that it isn't. Jareth had begged there, never doubting truly doubting his victory. Sarah had stood her ground there, never truly expecting to win.

Sarah and Jareth stared each other down. Neither said anything, because there was nothing to say. Emotions and thoughts raced through them both, to begin with. They each battled to find the right thing to say. Sarah knew she could end it. She could wish Jareth die. She could dream Jareth away. Jareth didn't know what he could do, in the end, except keep standing there. He had no power over her. She was smarter, in the end, than he was, and he knew it. He could not manipulate her with pretty turns of phrase. But, until the end, he was and would be a king. He would not beg. Not for mercy, forgiveness or favors. Sarah would not give them without him asking. She desired him humbled before her after everything that had happened. She would not help an ungrateful soul.

Neither of them noticed when the Labyrinth stirred about them, still locked in their staring match. The Labyrinth crept around the pair, encircling them and weaving vines around their legs. The Labyrinth whispered to them, but they did not hear. Their thoughts were too loud. Neither of them could turn away and so neither saw the Labyrinth seal them off in the grove. The Labyrinth preserved the pair, in a glass dome, like dolls. Timeless and unmoving. Sarah and Jareth were not to be set free until one of them made a move. But neither of them could. They were both to stubborn to give in. And so the Labyrinth left them there, waiting, running wild. The Labyrinth left them there for years, and still has them there, perfectly preserved. The Labyrinth will keep them there too, until one of them breaks the silence, until one of them looks away or until one of them makes a wish…


End file.
